A Manual for City-Based Live-Action Roleplaying

version 0.3beta

Contains
unnecessary underestimation of the reader's intelligence. Verification
of quotations has been minimal. Written by Dare Talvitie, with assistance
from Kaisa Kangas, Satu Heliö and several pioneers in urban live
action roleplaying.

This manual is a work in progress, adjusted as
errors or omissions are noticed.
Reader input is welcome. The author can
be reached at dare@iki.fi

the
disclaimers

I'm told that live-action games played in the middle of
a city is mostly a
Finnish phenomenon, and rather uncommon elsewhere.
While hardly an expert on
the subject, I seem to be the only one who has
anything resembling an introductory
manual written down.

Originally this manual
was still written for the Ghost Express -game, not as a general
introduction to the subject. Therefore only one way of doing some things
is
explained - for instance, Ghost Express used name tags, so no
alternatives to
them are discussed even though such are definitely
possible. Also, this is a
guide on how to play in a well designed city
game. It is not a guide on how
to design one.

The guide was
written for Finnish conditions, and no research has been done
to apply it
internationally. The text clearly shows that the roots of Finnish
live-action gaming are solidly in low-cost games for people living on a
student budget.

This document assumes that all players are of
legal age and responsible for their own actions. We do not condone illegal
activity even if we find it amusing. Use of common sense permitted. Obey
the game rules. Trust your gamemaster. Send us money.

1. the
basics

When playing live-action games in an city setting, the
following points must
be addressed:

+ reactions of people not in
the game
+ keeping in touch with the gamemasters
+ navigation
+ expenses

1.1. civilians and general safety issues

"A
bunch of halfwitted players were playing the police. They located
someone fitting a description they had, so they stopped him. He was
in
fact not a player in the game, but the police didn't realize that.
While they
were deciding what to do with their prisoner, he slipped from
them, and went
to Stockmann to buy a water pistol. He then returned to
the police and shot
one of them with his water pistol. The shocked police
opened fire (with cardboard
guns and "bang"-rules) towards this
civilian. Only at this point did
it occur to them that this person wasn't
even in the game. When the gamemaster
was notified of the event, he ruled
that the cop who got squirted with the water
pistol was now dead. 'If
somebody is as stupid as that, he deserves to go get a new character.'
"
- urban legend concerning the live-action game Helsinki FTZ
2036

When playing in a settting with a lot of people that don't
participate in the
game or even know that one is in progress, players
must be careful to act with
respect to their surroundings. Even though a
hardcore immersionist shudders
at the thought of any external constraints
to his playing, such concessions
are necessary in a city game. If this
is not acceptable, then it's best you stay off the
streets.

Identifying people that are actually playing is important
in a city game. In
many games this has been done with name tags stuck on
whatever clothing you
are currently wearing - you have to remember to
stick them to your coat when
going outside, and again to your shirt when
taking off your coat. This way you
will get identified as a player if
necessary. Even more importantly: if somebody
does not have a name tag,
he is not in the game.

If we do not disturb outsiders with our
games, they do not disturb us either.
Usually it's not a good idea to do
anything attracting a lot of attention from
otsiders or involving them in
the game. In no case should you do anything outrageously
illegal or
dangerous to civilians. We have an equal right to use the city, as
long
as we behave ourselves in as civilized a manner as the other people in
it.

Obvious problems arise in chase or combat situations.
Real-looking weapons
in a city environment are a Bad Idea, and attract
embarrassing but well-deserved
attention from the authorities. As a
gamemaster, I have no wish to ever again
explain to another police
officer anything about "just playing" with
the realistic
looking guns, and I believe other GMs feel the same. Therefore
let's keep
the shooters out of sight when in public. (In Ghost Express, we had
this
as an Important Rule: "Whatever you do, do not wave guns around in
the middle of the city. We are not interested in how well it fits your
character.
If you must have a gunfight, use the fist [on the top of your
head - the universal
(?) off-game sign] and explain to the other player
that you just shot him.")

When having a fistfight, the actual
punching and shoving is also best left
to a minimum in public. Good city
games have rules system that make this possible.
(Even if it's hardly a
good system by any standards, the MET system fits city
games nicely due
to its "no touching" -style rules.)

Chases work well in
the movies but badly in city games. I cannot stress enough
the insanity
of even considering a car chase, and even
bicycle chases are best left out. By running you probably won't hurt
anyone too badly. Often the
abilites of the character differ from those of the player so much that
it's
best not to dash around, and instead handle chase scenes with the
rules system
and an out-of-character discussion.

As we all know,
the city is a dangerous place, but most players survive it
every day, and
a game should not significantly lower their judgement. City games
are not
(or should not be, anyway) designed so that the players are required
to
perform dangerous physical stunts; if a player decides to do so anyway, he
is fully responsible for the consequences.

1.2. keeping in contact
with the gamemasters

"This is an anonymous phone call: Get me
an ambulance Right Fucking Now!"
- Hannu Pajunen, on the phone
with a Ghost Express gamemaster

When adventuring in the big city, a
cell phone is a must. Even if your character
does not have one, you still
should keep your own phone with you, and be able
to notice when you're
called.. If your character is a sneaky little ninja, who
can be revealed
by the slightest sound, get a vibrating phone. It's important
that a
gamemaster is able to reach a wandering player at any time. Charge your
battery before the game, and keep the charger with you in case you spend
your
two first hours on the phone.

In Ghost Express the
gamemasters used separate "in-game" and
"gamemastering"
numbers. Calls or text messages from
gamemastering numbers were not, actually,
calls to the character, but
information to the player. If such a method is used
in the game, it's
best to assign a distinctive ring tone to these numbers, and
you should
take any calls from them immediately. Calls from the gamemastering
numbers are analogous to a gamemaster approaching you [in off-game mode]
and asking for a minute.

A gamemaster can call from a
gamemastering
number because she wants to know
your location, or to tell youthat a
sniper from the church tower just capped
your ass, or to inform you that
the game is over and you are wanted at the debrief,
et cetera.

In
addition the gamemasters have the in-game numbers. Calls or messages from
these are just that - in-game calls or messages to the character's phone.
They
can be ignored or taken as fits the character and
situation.

When calling the gamemaster, it's best to remember the
distinction between
these numbers. If a character calls her aunt in
Svartholm, the player calls
the in-game number. If a plyer wants to know
about a situation in the game ("I
just found this ticking packagae,
what does my spider sense tell me about it?")
he calls the
gamemastering number. Mix-ups aren't usually too harmful, but
distinguishing between the numbers is
a good habit to pick up. The gamemasters regard calls to gamemastering
numbers as urgent requests for information, and they receive preferential
treatment.

1.3. navigation

"All city games should be
run in Manhattan. The city can then be the same
in game as in reality,
and everyone can find their way."
- Kaisa Kangas, about the most
logical city in the world

In city games, the character and player
frequently differ in their knowledge
about their surroundings. Usually
this means that a character is supposed to
know the city like the back of
her hand, but a player has only visited it a
couple of times.

When
gaming in a city, even one you know, it's often a good idea to take a
map with you. A sufficiently good map usually fits on a single A4 page.
You
can usually print one from the Net with little effort, and it helps
you out
a great deal. Marking important game locations on the map is a
smart move. The
map need not be in-game; it works fine as just a player
aid, and can therefore
contain even secret information. It's usually a
good idea to mark the map as
"OFF-GAME" in a large font to
clarify the matters to anyone who might
search your pockets, and to keep
your fist on your head [or otherwise clearly
express that you're doing
something not in-game] when consulting it.

When a city represents
some other city than itself in the game, it has become
something of a
standard to refer to street names, neighborhoods and buildings
by their
off-game names. This helps keep confusion relating to navigation to
a
minimum.

2. deeper secrets of city games: cars, restaurants and
cash

2.1. from one place to another

"I hereby declare
to the world: the public transport in Turku really works."
- Dare
Talvitie, after having played a character who used buses to dash around
in Get Bowen! (run by Tero Määttälä)

Cities are
big. It takes quite a while to get from one place to another. Fortunately
many characters have cars. Unfortunately rather few of [Finnish?]
live-action
gamers have them. This can be a problem at
times.

Usually few characters actually require that the player have
a car, but almost
any character can find a use for one. If a car is
required or strongly recommended,
the player should be notified well in
advance. Also, if as a player you have
access to a car, you should inform
the gamemaster.

Driving around in a strange city is always an
exciting experience. If your
character is supposed to know the city he's
driving around in, but you don't
feel quite at home there, you should try
to get to know it in advance. A short
course from a native in the best
driving school spirit would be optimal, but
usually not possible. A
couple of questions regarding different routes and locations
usually
suffice quite well... the gamemasters might be willing to tell you in
advance, that you will probably need to drive around in such-and-such
neighborhoods,
or to get from area A to around area B.

Playing a
character with a car is not recommended for drivers who have just
got
their licence, or to drivers who are uncertain of their abilities. Driving
a car can be a chore in itself, and if you are supposed to stay in
character
while doing it, the results can be nasty. The quality of your
game is not likely
to improve if you have to keep worrying about your
driving all the time.

Parking spots can be a problem for drivers.
On Saturday eves the party people
are out in droves, and every single
spot in the centre seems to be taken by
a teenager's Datsun or a suit's
Beemer. Unless you possess a superhuman aptitude
for finding free spaces,
or have unlimited funds for parking tickets, it's probably
not a good
idea to take a car into the absolute centre of the city.

If it
seems likely that your character is going to have to travel, you should
probably look at the public transportation in the city. Many cities in
Finland
offer a 24 hour ticket, which allows you to use local buses or
the subway as
much as you like. It has been proven that public transport
can take you places
surprisingly fast, even though using it efficiently
requires some knowledge
of the city and timetables.

The bicycle
has not been utilized as much as it could be, probably because
it looks
kind of silly for gothic vampires or hardboiled cops. If you happen
to
have one in the city, and it could fit your character, it can be of
immense
use.

If you're made of money, you could consider using
taxis. They take you places
fast and safely, and cabbies are used to
strange customers.

2.2. playing sites

2.2.1. public
places

"If you guys are going to sit here, you'd better buy
something."- A bartender at the Cosmic Comic Café, to
a horde of larpers at an aftergame

Playing in the city beats
playing in the wilderness at least in the amount
of shelter from the
elements the city provides. Indeed the characters have a
virtually
unlimited number of places they can use for their schemes. In some
city
games there are no sites reserved just for the game, and the players have
to use public places for the whole game.

Most obvious of these
public spots are cafés, restaurants or bars. As
long as you keep
buying something you can sit there plotting or negotiating
with no
problems. They are also excellent meeting spots - it's usually very
easy
to find someone in one with just a short description. The Finnish culture
does not include talking to strangers, so usually you are free of
hindrance
from civilians even if you're by yourself. On the other hand
it's best to buy
some food or drinks in order not to appear a complete
bum. You can pick a 'regular
bar' for your character, and tell it to his
friends - or the gamemasters can
assign you one.

If you desire a
different kind of privacy, or just don't want to spend money,
parks and
walkways can be used for meetings (at least when it isn't raining
or
infernally cold). Locating someone can be a bit more of a job, but it's
easier
to avoid eavesdroppers, and you can have even heated arguments
without anyone
demanding that you clean up your act.

Practically
any kind of public space can be utilized in the game, as long as
you
remember to adjust your behavior. In a park you can run and shout, but a
player acting wild in a mall can easily end up explaining herself to a
guard.
On the beach you can probably do pretty much anything and no one
will care.

(We have discovered that certain neighborhoods, such as
those with student
housing, are very tolerant of people acting strangely,
or even running around
screaming with objects that look like guns. While
we do not active encourage
anyone to try and test if this also applies to
their nearest student ghetto,
we do believe that it's easier to get away
with going loco if the locals are
used to frat boys doing
pranks.)

2.2.2. places reserved for the game

"Hold on
a
minute - was this in Pihlajatie as well? To hell with it, no
use going
there then."
- Risto Paalanen, in Isle of Saints, about an
apartment that served as quite
a few different locations in the
game

City games often include sites that are specifically reserved
for the game.
Usually these are well away from the eyes of bystanders,
and you can use them
to play all kinds of live-action weirdness:
shootouts, brawls, sacrifice to elder gods, sex, and anything else
unsuitable for
being played in public. These sites are normally
indoors and clearly
separated from the world outside by doors locked doors and
other
privacy-enhancing barriers, as found in any private residence. People
not in the game do not appear on site.

Sometimes a game also has
reserved sites that are not blocked by any doors
or barriers but which
should still be clear of outsiders. Usually the authorities
are informed
of a game in progress in such a location, so that any concerned
citizens
calling the police can be reassured by them. Players can either be
told
of these areas in advance, or they may just happen upon them in game.

It helps if the edges of these areas have some kind of markers
indicating that
they are reserved game areas. This way players preparing
a commando raid on
an abandoned building can be assured that they are
indeed in the right spot
and not just about to ambush a bunch of homeless
people. When you are preparing
to assault a spot you think is a reserved
game site, but don't see any markers
indicating so, you should probably
check that the place is a valid target by
calling the gamemastering
number. It is embarrassing, and possibly financially
harmful or limiting
to freedom to rush in, pop-guns blazing, into a site you
believe to be
reserved for the game, but is actually full of outsiders.

Locations
such as these might be a tad unsafe - the floor of an abandoned building
can be covered with glass shards, nails could protrude from walls etc. The
responsible
gamemasters have of course checked that the site contains
nothing incredibly
hazardous, but players should still move around with
caution. Anyone deciding
to perform complicated acrobatics only has
himself to blame should he get hurt.
Use common sense and don't bruise
yourself, or other players.

In case this isn't obvious: even in
reserved game sites act within bounds of
reason. Do not destroy property
or make a mess. (Of course there are degrees
to this: if the site already
resembles a war zone, couple of more dents are
not going to hurt, as long
as you don't practically bring down the place.)

2.2.3. off-game
sites

"We accidentally bashed the roommate of a player with
our boffer swords.
Then we told her that she must not tell the player we
dropped by searching for
him, as she was dead. Nobody said that player
residences would be off-game."
- Dare and Kharon boast about
their heroics in Highlander

Many city games do not specify a
distinct off-game site. Players should probably
not be banned from
shopping if their character has been removed from the game.
Basically,
you should assume that any site not specifically reserved for the
game is
also an off-game area.

This is where nametags or other similar
markers come in handy. If you have
to go off-character, do it simply by
removing your nametag. After this you can
go around off-game in any
public area. Of course you should not enter any site
reserved for the
game like this, and it's probably a good idea to avoid places
that you
know people are currently playing in.

2.3. the costs of city
games

Before signing up for a city game it's a good idea to note
that the game can
easily cost the player more than just the entrance fee.
In addition to the normal
travel and clothing expenses you will probably
spend money in ways not even
possible when playing a fantasy game in the
woods. Since institutions not related
to the game usually do not take
in-game money as payment (indeed, not even all
the institutions in the
game might do so) you should probably have some currency
of the realm in
your pocket when playing.

If the game is played without any sites
specifically reserved for it, or if
your character is not going to go to
one, you can resign yourself to sitting
in cafés for the entire
game (at least during the colder seasons) and
budget at least 10 euros
for it - 20 would be better. Even if you have a place
you can use to hang
around, another character can always invite you for a meeting
in a
café.

Another obvious cost is the phone bill. If you play a
character with a lot
of contacts, you can easily amass a phone bill of 20
euros for a one-night game.

You can also find yourself spending
money on gas or public transport. Remember
that if you spend your game as
a passenger in someone's car, she may wish you
donate some gas money
after the game. During games creative players have managed
to spend money
on pinball machines, film, hair spray, CDs, sunglasses, petty
fines,
parking tickets...

For Ghost Express we recommended the players
reserve about 10 euros for miscellaneous
expenses. Most players didn't
spend nearly as much, but it was still better
to be prepared than to have
your character not be able to do something because
the player ran out of
cash.

3. sources: notable city games through the ages

The Turku Vampire (1994) - At the dawn of
the
present-day
larping, this was a one-night walkabout played in
cafés and other public
locations. One of the first (if not the
first) games played among civilians
in Finland. Run by Mika
"Magus" Laaksonen

Highlander (1995) - A
weekend-long boffer killer in the spirit
of the movie. Had splendid
instructions for legal and illegal uses of public
transport and sites
suitable for swordfighting. Excellent co-ordination from
pre-cell-phone
days: the players had a list of places to be and times to be
there if one
wished something to happen. Run by Clan Raven.

Helsinki FTZ
2036 (1997) - A paranoid city game taking 30
hours. The first
game to require that every player have a cell phone, and to
utilize them
as an efficient means of communication between the players and
the
gamemasters. Smooth commos enabled a fast pace for the game. Run by Panu
"Ego" Alku.

Isle of Saints (2000) - A
weekend-long city game that polished
the techniques introduced in FTZ. It
was the first game to borrow multiple apartments
(from players) to be
used as game sites, as well as the use of the net for communication.
Even though the game did not have a single main plot, actions of one group
were
quickly and realistically seen to affect others. A shining example
on how to
create city games. Run by Juki Koskelin, Mika Loponen and Mikki
Rautalahti.